


Divinitas

by AlphAOmegA151, YeetTheAngels



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26407591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphAOmegA151/pseuds/AlphAOmegA151, https://archiveofourown.org/users/YeetTheAngels/pseuds/YeetTheAngels
Summary: This is not how Jamil Viper's story ends, but how it begins.
Relationships: Kalim Al-Asim & Jamil Viper
Kudos: 24





	Divinitas

**Author's Note:**

> for kamjam week and for jamil's birthday!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAM BOY!!!!!!!!

Once upon a time, the gods weren’t just the stuff of legends. They were very much real, and they ruled the earth, sea and skies. The mortals worshipped them, and they in return gave them bountiful harvests and wealth. Most lived in fear of the gods, and tales were told about them, such as ones about the god of beauty, or the god of fire and of the sands (and his vendetta against the Hanging Gardens). One such tale was about a man. An ordinary man, really. But he was able to win the heart of the sun, and for that he too was set ablaze by the passionate fires of love. How his story ends, no one knows. Some say he had perished, unable to withstand the passion of a god. Some say he wasn’t able to capture a god’s attention for long, and passed away, forgotten by the world. But amidst these false tales, there is but one that is true…

* * *

Illios. A quaint desert city, filled with merchants and scholars, looking for a living or seeking knowledge. This is where we find our protagonist, scholar Jamil Viper. This town might be seen as “logical” or “down to earth” by some - after all, this town was mainly populated by honest people who preferred academia and money over things they couldn’t touch. However, there was one critical exception to this rule: everyone worshipped the sun god, Kalim. Everyone would regularly head to the temple at the city centre, and devoutly worship the sun god in question. Why? Well, Jamil did it out of eighty percent belief and twenty percent social expectations, unlike everyone else’s one hundred percent maniacal devotion-or-fear, but nobody needed to know that. But that wasn’t to say that their antics were strange. In fact, Jamil understood them quite well. What if they stopped praying, and the entire city fell into a drought? How many people would die? How many more would suffer? No one wanted that, and unwilling to risk provoking a deity that might or might not exist, they continued to pray, despite not having any evidence to support their beliefs. Human fear was only natural, after all.

Anyways, aside from the wholehearted worship of the God of Light, Illios was quite ordinary. Like any other town, they had their own beliefs and quirks, had their own type of trade and culture, had their fair share of famous people and legends, whether it be for the better or worse. And like his town, Jamil was quite ordinary. Or at least, that’s how he considered himself. Sure, he was smart and performed quite well both in academics and sports, and consistently got the praise of neighbors and teachers alike for being capable and responsible, but yeah, he was mostly ordinary. It wasn’t like he was famous or anything, and he certainly did not lead a very eventful life - he wasn’t royalty and he wasn’t particularly rich either, and he wasn’t well-read enough to become widely acclaimed for his academic works (yet). He was just a teen who focused on his studies and loved his family, that was all.

And that was why Jamil was so confident in himself. He had plans for the future. Plans that were meticulously thought out, plans that practically guaranteed his future success (or at least the fact that his future would be smooth sailing), especially when combined with his superior academic prowess and intelligence - enroll in the top university, become a scholar (or a priest, in the worst case scenario) , gain a steady income, maybe part time as a merchant, then he’d be set for life. That was how he envisioned his life to be - maybe a little plain, but one that ensured that his future would be trouble-free. And for all of his life, he had been walking on that path.

Maybe that was why he never saw the Great Drought coming.

The Great Drought came suddenly, like a thief in the night. Wells that had been full dried up within days, rivers that used to be flowing and bubbling; now barely a trickle ran through. As a desert city, the nearest ocean was miles away, and it would take weeks, if not months to bring even the tiniest bit of water back. The people of Illios prayed desperately, offering up everything they had, from precious gemstones to books of learning. Yet they received no answer from the gods. People were frightened. People were terrified. People were desperate. They only wanted to live on, that was all - what did they do wrong? Had they offended a god? Who? How? And perhaps, the most important question of them all: how to regain their favour?

Meanwhile, the gods were busy. _Someone_ had sent a sandstorm towards the Hanging Gardens. Again. Said god was now being punished with a forced stay in the Underworld. Being a god of sand and fire, experiencing the depressing, gloomy state of the Underworld was definitely a punishment. It took him three days to pick a fight with the god who ruled the Underworld, and four days to be subjugated by him. But that is another story, for another time. Back to our current story… 

The mortals were not aware of the gods’ proceedings, and continued to panic. If a god had happened to look down upon the small desert city of Illios, this was what they might have seen:

They might have seen the people, crying in fear. They might have seen the people, desperately praying for mercy. Or they might have seen Jamil Viper, hurrying towards the Central Temple, with a single dagger in hand. 

Jamil definitely did not see the Great Drought coming. At first, he expected it to last a few days, like everyone else did - they did live in the desert, so small droughts weren’t uncommon, and everyone had contingency plans for things like that. But as the drought carried on, from a week, to another, and yet another, until a month had passed, and by that point, people were struggling to live. Buying water with money? Impossible. In the city thrown into chaos, people cared for their own survival above all, and it took all Jamil had to keep his family afloat and alive. Searching for water in the most remote of sources, even resorting to stealing like a mere street rat… the lives that he had indirectly claimed were of no concern to him, not when his dearest family could die at any moment. But now? Even those options were exhausted. Even the richest of the rich, even the luckiest of the luckiest, they had no more water to spare, not even for themselves. Merchants and all those who were able to, had already fled Illios in search of life. There was nothing Jamil could do to keep his family alive… or was there?

Long ago, there had been stories of the gods taking mortal men or women as their lovers or even as their brides. Jamil had heard the stories, of course. But he, like many others, had dismissed them to be yet another poet’s fanciful dreams. But maybe, just maybe… it was a way out. Even if he didn’t succeed, then that was one less person who would use up the water everyone so desperately needed. So in the middle of the night, he dressed himself in white silk (which was reserved for weddings), clutched his dagger close, and set off towards the Central Temple. 

The Central Temple was surprisingly empty when he entered. With the recent drought, no one had the guts to stay in such a public place for long, lest they be killed for their water. The priests that had maintained the temple were long gone. In fact, they were amongst the first to abandon the city, taking much of the precious water with them. Stepping up to the abandoned altar, Jamil prayed. He prayed for the safety of his family, for the people of his city, for rain to finally fall upon them. And finally, for his family to remember him, so that he may pass through to the Underworld unhindered. Sitting on the altar, he took a deep breath, readying himself for the inevitable. Then he started chanting a spell he had seen in one of the scrolls, which was said to bring mortals to the realm of the gods. As he chanted, an eerie wind started to blow, growing stronger and stronger until he could no longer continue the spell, his body growing weaker and weaker until he let the encroaching darkness take him from this world. To where, he couldn’t say. 

But that is not how his story ends. In fact, it has only just begun.  


* * *

“Hey, hey! Are you awake yet?” Jamil regained his consciousness to a soft hand patting his face. What the… where on earth was he, anyway? The teen tried to open his eyes, but upon opening them just a slit, he regretted it - why was it so bright, dammit?

“Weird, I thought Riddle said it’d take three hours, at maximum… did something go wrong?” There was a small pause, before Jamil heard the sound of a fist hitting a palm - possibly by the person next to- wait, shit, there was someone else?!

In an instant, the self-imposed sacrifice shot up from the floor, and felt around for his dagger. A threat, maybe? Someone who was planning to kill for a drink of water? Well, he didn’t sound too threatening, but still, better safe than sorry…

“Oh! You’re awake! Thank goodness, I almost thought something bad had happened to you - it’s been four h-” The person in front of him looks towards the sky, as if to check the position of the sun. _Weird,_ Jamil thinks, _people don’t usually look straight up to the sun, in fear of being blinded by its intense light. Just who is-_ “Eeeeh?! It’s only been an hour?!”

Okay, this person was definitely no threat, not when they couldn’t even count time properly. Jamil took the time to observe this stranger - Golden accessories - a ridiculous amount - adorned his arms and head, which made Jamil question just how insanely wealthy this person was. His most striking feature, however, were a pair of ruby red eyes that inexplicably reminded Jamil of the setting sun. These sparkling eyes, filled with an aura of innocence, were framed by a shock of soft white hair, reminiscent of the gentle light of the moon. His skin, contrary to what one might expect, was quite tanned - so, not an albino? How strange. No one in Illios had features that even remotely resembled those of this person’s. And certainly, no one in all of Illios was as fair as- Jamil quickly halted that train of thought, because what the fuck, did he just… no, he was not going to finish that thought. He was _never_ going there. 

In an effort to distract himself from his _completely not sodomical thoughts_ , Jamil went on to observe and analyze his surroundings for useful information. The first (and very obvious) thing he spotted was that there was a lot of gold. Like, _a lot_. An incomprehensible amount that Jamil never thought he would ever see in his entire life. 

“Heeeey~! Are you still asleep or something? Or disoriented?”

The second thing was that the entire place was very bright, as if Jamil was sitting on the sun itself. Sure, the sun was out, but there was no way that any place could be this bright, even when it was high noon with no clouds in sight. No, it was as if everything was glowing, just slightly, but it was enough to light up the entire realm (or as far as he could see, at least) by at least three times of what a normal noon would look like. Was this heaven…? After all, no mortal place could ever compare to this. 

“Oiiii~ Can you hear me? No response? That’s weird. Maybe I should go get someone...?”

No mortal place would have this much gold, would be this bright, and no mortal place would let Jamil sit on a cloud. _Wait. What the fuck._ He was sitting on a cloud. How would that even work?! Weren’t clouds basically condensed water vapour? Then how-

A waving hand entered his field of vision and cleanly interrupted his thought process. “-llo? Hellooo? Oh no, are you sick? Running a fever?” The other person suddenly got very close - far too close for comfort - and touched their foreheads together. “...You’re not running a fever, I think… Can’t quite tell… uhm…”

No, Jamil absolutely was not frightened, and his pause before jolting away was definitely due to shock and nothing else. His cry of “I’m fine!” was definitely not panicked, and his voice _definitely_ did not crack while he screec- uh, said it in a very calm manner. He was Jamil Viper, after all, and he would never do something so disgraceful. Of course not. Especially not in front of a stranger.

“That’s good to know! You sure you’re fine, though?” Visible concern floats on the other person’s face. “You just… I dunno, were completely gone from the world for a while there… Did the transfer take a toll on you...?” Jamil frowned. “Wait… what transfer?” The other rolls his eyes, as if the answer was obvious. “The transfer to take you here, silly!” Jamil blinks, uncomprehending of what had just been said. Then it hit him like a sack of bricks. “You mean- I- we-” He takes a deep breath. “I’m dead?”

“Er… well… you’re not _dead_ , really. It’s kinda hard to explain… “ He muttered to himself for a bit. “You performed the spell to take you here, yeah? But mortals can’t really get here, so you’re sorta… in between?” Jamil felt a headache coming on. In the name of the sun god, couldn’t this guy explain this in a clearer way? This was even worse than that one time the teacher came to class with a fever…

All of a sudden, the other person perked up. “Oh! A prayer on my name? This close… ah, uhm… this is a little strange, but did you just make a prayer to me?”

A… prayer? To this guy? Hah, never. Hold on, but didn’t he just swear in the name of- _Oh no, don’t tell me-_

Try as he might, Jamil could not keep the hint (read: landslide) of disbelief out of his voice. “You’re… Lord Kalim?”

“The one and only! Kalim al-Asim, at your service!”

 _Damn_ , Jamil thought, taking care to avoid all thoughts of the sun god, which was harder than he thought it would be. He was _definitely_ not awake enough for this bullshit.

“It’s nice to meet you, uh…” The deity pauses, and blinks twice rather cutely, as if trying to find the answer to a riddle in his head. “Um, what’s your name?” 

Jamil wanted to know if it was possible to murder a god. He had met this person for not even five minutes and he already wanted to murder him. Or maybe himself, seeing that it was his own foolishness that led him into this mess.

“My name is Jamil.” he says, decisively not looking at the absolutely adorable god in front of him. None of the books and scriptures mentioned just how _cute_ the sun god was. They only ever mentioned how he was the personification of the sun itself, and of his mighty power, not of his adorable red eyes that shone like rubies, nor of his soft white hair- 

No, no, he had to focus, get his priorities in order, and do what he had come here to do in the first place. Getting to his knees and touching his head to the surprisingly soft floor of clouds, Jamil issued his request. “ Lord Kalim. If it is not too much to ask, could you please give water to the people of Illios?”

“Sure, but… uh...Illios? Where is that?”

The innocent smile the sun god wore made Jamil really, really want to punch him right in his smug, handsome little face. _Don’t punch the god, don’t punch the god, don’t punch the god…_

“It’s the town where I live, in the Asria Desert.”

“Eh… where is that, again?”

“...” _Are you fucking serious._ Jamil had a better grasp of world geography than a god. What had the world come to? “It has one of the greatest temples for you. You should have been receiving a large amount of prayers _for water_ over the past months.”

Kalim’s expression brightened up in an instant, like a blooming sunflower. “Ohh! That place! Alright, hold on…” The white-haired god’s eyebrows scrunched up cutely in what seemed to be concentration, and in moments, the sound of falling water could be heard. Sure enough, a huge, dark rain cloud had spawned out of nowhere, and was merrily dropping colossal amounts of water onto the world below. A very dangerous amount that, when sustained for a long time, could probably flood all of Illios in an hour.

“Aaaah! Slow down! Are you trying to flood the city?!” Jamil’s mouth moved before his mind could restrain it. Shit, like he needed to piss off the god even more. As innocent as he acted, Jamil had to force himself to remember that Kalim was a god who could and would destroy towns and entire countries on a mere whim. Did he anger the sun god, somehow? What did he do wrong? What did he do to anger so much he would be prompted to flood his entire hometown? Should he beg for-

“Eeeh?! Aah, I’m sorry, hold on, let me-” Kalim’s voice mirrored Jamil’s internal fright, and in the blink of an eye, the heavy rainfall was stemmed into a slow trickle of droplets. “I’m so sorry! I thought you just needed as much water as possible, since that’s what people usually ask for- ah, I forgot about the flooding problem even though Azul warned me of it, I’m so sorry, please don’t get mad at me…!”

...Huh?

Instead of Jamil, the mortal, begging Kalim, the almighty deity, for mercy, it was the other way round. _Why?_ The gentle rain continued to fall. “...It’s fine. The city isn’t destroyed, right?”

“Nope, it isn't!” At Jamil’s query, Kalim’s expression lit up, in stark contrast to his distraught one from only seconds ago. “Here,” the god waves his hand in front of them both, creating an image of Illios. “You can see for yourself.”

And indeed, as the god had promised, Illios was completely fine. The streets were cleaned by the flow of pure rain, people were rejoicing at the opportunity to live again. Seeing the tears of sheer joy run down the people’s faces together with the rain droplets, Jamil’s shoulders sagged down in relief. Now, he could rest well - whatever happened to him, he would be content in the knowledge that he had saved not only his family, but also his whole hometown. “Thank you, Lord Kalim.”

“Just call me Kalim! No need for honorifics or anything, we’re friends, right?” Kalim bounded forward and hugged him. Jamil was sure he was going to die, either of embarrassment or of a cracked rib. Or maybe both. 

Thankfully, the loud sound of a bell tolling distracted them both from the embarrassing moment. Jamil had read about this before, in the scriptures that were now a world away - the bells that called for an assembly between the gods, whether it be to exchange information or to discuss future happenings. As if to confirm his hypothesis, the god beside him jolted up from the hug, and squeaked in shock. “Oh no, the Assembly! But, Jamil…” The expression of puzzlement on his face quickly gave way to one of enlightenment. “Got it, I’ll just bring you with me!”

_To the Assembly? For gods? Is it even allowed?_

As if sensing Jamil’s conflict, Kalim leaned closer in a gesture of reassurance. “Don’t worry!” he chirped. “I mean, Leona brings Ruggie, and Azul brings the twins… it’s nothing forbidden! Well, Leona probably won’t be there though, since he’s in jail and all, but no one will question it.” Before Jamil can even react, Kalim grabs his wrist. “Hold on!” 

The sensation of a free fall permeated his body, and Jamil feared for a split second that he’s going to die again. But soon enough, his feet touched solid ground, and when Jamil opened his eyes again (which were definitely not closed by fear), he was greeted by the nonsensical sight of what seemed to be a cross between a courtroom and a tea party, adorned in red, white, black and gold. Roses were blooming in the uncanniest of places, and… was that a blue hedgehog scurrying around the legs of a chair and under a desk? How strange. From what he knew of the scriptures, this must be…

“Hey, Riddle! How are you doing?”

The domain of the King of Gods, the God of Law and Order, Riddle Rosehearts. Yes, if he recalled correctly, this was indeed where the divine assemblies were held. In that case, shouldn’t the other gods be here as well?

As if responding to his thoughts, other figures started to materialize in the vicinity, and Jamil tried to match a name to their face.

A white haired man, holding a cane. As he tapped the tip of the cane against the floor lightly, the watery aura of magic around him and his two followers dissipated. Twin followers, white hair, water… This was most likely Azul Ashengrotto, god of the sea and trade. The everpresent scheming smirk on his face told Jamil all he needed to know. The twins behind him only served to enhance the menacing atmosphere around the trio, what with their impressive height and unnatural hair colour. The one on the left sported an expression of boredom and mockery, while the other had on a polite smile that seemed to conceal malice. Jamil decided that he would stay far, far away from those three.

The sound of a door opening was heard, and three figures entered from the door to the court - quite unexpectedly unostentatious, for gods. “Hey~ You called, Riddle?” The ginger who spoke leaned over the desk, pushing papers around and eliciting a scowl from Riddle. “Cater, I’ve told you several times to stop doing that.” “Oh come on, Riddle. Live a little!” the man made an odd squeaking noise, and the blue hedgehog that had been sniffing at Jamil whipped its little head around and headed straight for him. He knelt down to scoop the little hedgehog up to his face, and laughed when it licked his cheek. The glasses wearing man sighed as he helped Riddle reorganize his desk. “I’ll bake you a tart later, Riddle. You know how Cater is… “ “Trey, if that… if Cater does that one more time, I’ll… “ Riddle made an angry noise. Jamil thought it sounded very similar to Cater’s squeak from earlier. Since their names were revealed, Jamil was able to connect them to Cater Diamond, god of laughter and Trey Clover, god of the kitchen. 

The third one, however, made a beeline towards Kalim. “Hey Kalim, who’s this?” he asked. Jamil couldn’t help but stare at the twitching animal ears on top of his head. Kalim grinned and clung onto Jamil, as if he was a marsupial. “Hey Ruggie! This is Jamil! He’s my bestie now!” Ruggie (god of the outcasts) looked at Jamil, who was trying not to show any emotion, then back to Kalim, smiling as brightly as the sun he represented. He snickered. “Shishishi~ Good luck, Jamil. You’re gonna need it!” He was still laughing as he sauntered off to play with Cater’s hedgehog friend.

Somehow, that statement sent a chill down Jamil’s spine. Shaking off the feeling of dread, he looked at the other gods who had entered the room while he wasn’t looking. An elegant man with violet-tipped hair had appeared near one of the tea tables. Next to him was a blond man with a long bowl cut and a bow and quiver slung on his back. The two conversed in hushed tones, though Jamil could see the close bond they had with each other. _Bow and arrows… that must be Rook Hunt, god of love and hunting. And the other should be Vil Schoenheit, god of beauty and poisons._

In a dim flash of light, a slab of floating metal had materialized into the courtroom, glowing with strange blue sigils and a triangular insignia denoting a skull. How peculiar. There was a small sound coming from it, but Jamil couldn’t hear any distinct words or phrases thanks to the low volume. _A god with strange, almost magical technology… Idia Shroud, perhaps? Or maybe one of his mechanical servants?_

Directly opposite to where the metal pad was, a swarm of bats had gathered, coalescing to form a short humanoid figure with black hair streaked with pink. With a wave of his (or her?) hand, a bat appeared out of thin air. The newcomer whispered to it, and it flew out of a window, presumably carrying a message - some gods did do that in the myths, after all. The bats were a telltale sign of the ex-Titan Lilia Vanrouge, the warden of the dead. “Ah, Riddle,” he announced in a surprisingly deep voice. “Malleus can’t come today, so as usual, I’ll be filling in for him instead.” His statement was met with a curt nod of acknowledgement from the king of gods.

“Alright, settle down, everyone.” Riddle called for order in the room, however he went unnoticed by almost everyone. His eye twitched and Jamil could see his face turning increasingly red. “Kalim, maybe we should settle down.” He tugged Kalim over to a throne that he assumed to be Kalim’s, judging by all the gold and jewels on it, as well as the giant golden sun symbol over it. Yeah, not even an idiot would be able to mistake that throne for someone else's… Jamil suddenly remembered the story of when the sun god mistook another’s throne for his own, and accidentally caused a city to be destroyed. “Jamilllll… “ Kalim whined, but allowed Jamil to shove him onto the throne.

“URRRRGH!! That’s it!” Jamil swore he saw the god king’s face turn a shade of red that bordered on purple. **“OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!!!”**

In a flash of light, everyone present, excluding Kalim, Jamil and Riddle’s followers, had a red and black collar around their neck, shaped like a heart. Even the slab of (now no longer floating) metal had one. This was the legendary binding collar that only the god of law and order could use, and its effects were devastating. Capable of sealing any entity’s magic for as long as the god wished, being hindered by it was the one thing most, if not all beings dreaded. Well, at least he and Kalim were safe from Riddle’s wrath. The god king opened his mouth to deliver a lecture to the many misbehaving gods, and Jamil braced himself.

Thirty minutes later, everyone was sitting quietly at their thrones, red and black collars still on their necks and sufficiently shamed. Riddle took a long drink of his tea. “Now that we have all calmed down, we can _finally_ discuss the matter at hand. You all know of Leona’s-” After a brief pause to consult the papers on his desk, he resumed speaking. “-two hundred and forty-seventh attempt to turn the Hanging Gardens into sand, yes?” The assembled gods responded with general noises of assent.

“As usual, he misfired, and hit a desert town, causing a four-month long drought period that _none of us were aware of until today._ ” _Uhhh.. what? As usual?! And none of you were aware of it?_ Jamil briefly questioned the gods’ competency internally, careful not to swear on their names. “Well, this matter has been resolved, thanks to Kalim noticing and granting extra rain to that place. Leona has also been punished with a month’s stay in the underworld, hence his absence today.” Both Lilia and Ruggie tried to hide their smiles at that. “Which brings us to our next issue. Jamil Viper.” 

At the god’s call, Jamil flinched. Why call on him, so suddenly? Despite his nervousness, Jamil forced himself to give a response. “Yes, Lord Riddle?” Riddle’s expression was unreadable, which only served to make Jamil even more anxious. Was he going to be punished for his little stunt? But then, in that case, wouldn’t Kalim already have-

“You performed a highly dangerous, as well as highly forbidden ritual. For that, you should be sent to the deepest parts of the underworld immediately… but you did it to save your city. I cannot punish someone for saving thousands of lives. So I will give you a chance.” 

A chance? Well, to Jamil, who thought for sure that he would be punished with the most severe and painful torture possible, the chance was a much better option. He wasn’t really sure as to what this “chance” entailed, but he wasn’t going to just pass it up, either. “Thank you, Lord Riddle. What must I do to regain the favour of the gods?”

Smiling slightly at Jamil’s politeness and readiness, Riddle replied, “Well, at least you know your place. You will be given a series of tasks. These tasks will be very difficult, but not impossible. If you succeed, you may even be rewarded.”

Had Jamil been paying attention to the other gods’ expressions, he would have found amused ones and sinister ones (especially Ruggie’s silent cackling), as if warning him of the million potential risks this came with, but Jamil had put too much attention on Riddle’s words to notice. “I understand. Then,” with a small, but confident smirk, Jamil unknowingly heralded the beginning of his suffering that he would come to regret many times over. “When may I begin?”

**Author's Note:**

> twst server  
> join us if ur a twst fan who wants a fun place to simp for ur faves  
> link removed!


End file.
